The dual life of cancer protein Dab2

According to research using recombinant mouse proteins, sometimes proteins play more roles than we expect. For example, Dab2 has been considered to be associated with cancer. This molecule is associated with a series of signaling proteins called the Ras-MAPK pathway. In many cancers, the components of Ras-MAPK mutate and begin to tell cells to grow out of control.

Dr. Xiang Xi Xu (Michael), a professor of cell biology at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, discovered the Dab2 protein more than 20 years ago and has been studying its relationship with cancer since that time, according to researchers at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in the United States. But now he has found that Dab2 has always been very low-key secret - it may have an important public health impact on the fight against obesity. In a study published in Scientific Reports, Xu's lab found that young mice without Dab2 did not experience weight gain when ingesting too much food. "These mice look normal and everything seems good unless we give them a high-fat diet," Xu said. "They just do not get fat."

The underlying mechanism may be around adipose-derived stem cells: immature cells, which can be split into more stem cells or differentiated into mature adipocytes. In normal mice, Dab2 inhibits Ras-MAPK, which in turn promotes a protein called PPA R. It helps in the differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells into mature adipocytes. Eliminating Dab2 can shorten this process.

Normal mice fed a high-calorie diet gained weight, knocking out Dab2 to keep mice slim - but only temporarily. As the mice mature, the metabolic effects dissipate. At six months, the Dab2 deletion had little effect. Xu believes that this is because mice (and humans) lose fat stem cells at maturity. This early impact may help to explain "why early weight problems may persist into adulthood and why many adults are so difficult to lose weight".

"Dab2 controls a group of adipose-derived stem cells that are slowly disappearing," says Xu. "It appears that children are particularly susceptible to eating, and they may increase the number of adipocytes and fat cells at a young age, and they can still make fat later in life. But the existing fat cells are growing, and childhood habits may affect adults, making them more prone to obesity.

From a public health perspective, these findings may reinforce the importance of "guiding children away from high-fat diets". This role of Dab2 has been identified and may lead to new drug strategies to combat childhood obesity as the protein may be an attractive target for drug development. By the way, Flarebio provides you with high-quality recombinant proteins including recombinant CDH2 for your research.